When Flower Mound and Marcus face off for the Mound Showdown Friday, the schools won’t just be battling on the gridiron.
The two schools will also compete for the Mound Showdown Food Drive Championship Belt, awarded to the fanbase that collects the most canned goods for Lewisville-based nonprofit Christian Community Action.
A pair of box trucks will be set up on either side of the stands and fans from both sides will donate canned goods that will be sent to local families in need.
The effort to tackle hunger was organized in partnership with Chadrik Ledbetter, the executive director of Street Seminary, another nonprofit in Lewisville.
“We really want everyone to come together under one mission,” he said. “But make it into a friendly competition, as well.”
As a former educator, Ledbetter saw first hand what donations can do to help kids learn in the classroom. He hopes the food drive will help those within Lewisville ISD.
“When I was a teacher, I had some students that were moody and I came to realize it was because they had school breakfast every morning, if anything,” he said. “I didn’t understand that they probably didn’t eat dinner the night before… they’re hungry and that affected their ability to learn.”
Ledbetter was inspired to pursue the cause after growing up on donated foods, himself.
“When I was younger, I remember seeing that look on my mom’s face when we would get a cereal or snacks I didn’t like – I didn’t want that,” he recalled. “But eventually, I started understanding why they came knocking on our trailer door giving that to us. At the time, that’s all we had.”
His story has led him to hopefully give some kids in his situation some different options than he had.
Friday’s event will be accepting donations of cereals, canned meats and boxed foods, which can all be brought to the game.
“It’s my life’s mission to make sure those kids don’t just have the bottom of the shelf stuff,” said Ledbetter. “Because that’s what I had and it weighed on my mom, and she didn’t deserve that.”
With any sort of success on Friday at the Flower Mound-Marcus game, Ledbetter hopes to eventually bring similar events to other schools in the area.
He believes the extra support from the community could truly help Denton County become one of the most well-educated county in Texas.
“God willing, I want us to be the most literate county in the DFW area, and in Texas,” said Ledbetter. “Once that happens, I believe crime rates will drop and many other things will start to improve. It’s my life’s mission, it’s my goal and I’ll do everything I can to achieve it.”
To learn more about CCA Lewisville, visit the organization’s website. To make donations online, use CCA Lewisville’s wish list.
